Final Fantasy IX - Faithfully Enhanced

[Vicious]

What's everyone using as far as Shaders for FF IX? I was searching for some examples and this came up:
(NOT for those with slower connection speeds. Hell, even people with a fast connection will be waiting for all the images to load)
http://forums.ngemu.com/psx-plugin-q...gl-plugin.html
The example images are from FF IX. Just thought I'd leave that here for others who might want to play around with it. I'm currently using the Natural Vision Shader.

Originally Posted by cloudbill

Since 2d pre-rendered backgrounds are at a fixed resolution and can't be re-sized that's where you get the "extra" lines.

Alright, that makes sense. Thanks for that.

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[cloudbill]

I personally use either Natural shader (not Natural2, it is too bright for me) or pete ogl2 shader median (don't use pete ogl2 shader median glow, another one that's too bright). These two shaders, imho, blur the game very little compared to alot of other shaders. These 2 shaders primarily just affect colour so you don't get alot of anti-aliasing (blurring) but the colour vibrancy it adds to the visuals more than makes up for it.

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Last edited by cloudbill; March 25th, 2011 at 23:54..

[psykoako]

Originally Posted by cloudbill

I personally use either Natural shader (not Natural2, it is too bright for me) or pete ogl2 shader median (don't use pete ogl2 shader median glow, another one that's too bright). These two shaders, imho, blur the game very little compared to alot of other shaders. These 2 shaders primarily just affect colour so you don't get alot of anti-aliasing (blurring) but the colour vibrancy it adds to the visuals more than makes up for it.

Same here I only use the 1st natural vision... version 2 of it just isn't my taste too bright for me also.. But I've also used a Cellshader not the cartoon shaders but this ones labeled as "cellshade" only. Found it googling, hehe it's ok and doesn't ruin the FMV's.

Attached Files

cellshade.rar (693 Bytes, 48 views)

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[cloudbill]

Originally Posted by psykoako

Same here I only use the 1st natural vision... version 2 of it just isn't my taste too bright for me also.. But I've also used a Cellshader not the cartoon shaders but this ones labeled as "cellshade" only. Found it googling, hehe it's ok and doesn't ruin the FMV's.

I'ma gonna try that one. I really don't like the toon-shaders (makes everything too creepy and trashes text) but maybe this will be different. Won't know untill I try.

[psykoako]

Originally Posted by cloudbill

I'ma gonna try that one. I really don't like the toon-shaders (makes everything too creepy and trashes text) but maybe this will be different. Won't know untill I try.

Try setting it to 2:More or 3:Medium for good results... It doesn't extremely trash text but it's ok tho, gives FFIX a new look =] Enjoy!

Attached cellshade screeny:
cellshade.jpg

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Last edited by psykoako; March 26th, 2011 at 03:06..

[Xblade]

Wish there was a way to keep it from affecting the backgrounds. :\

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[psykoako]

Originally Posted by Annoying-Kuriboh

Wish there was a way to keep it from affecting the backgrounds. :\

Yep, I wish so too... Maybe try lowering it to 1 (hardly noticeable cellshading effect) or 2 semi ok.

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[mo0nwalker]

Here are the settings as you can see from the picture, I use Pete's OGL2.

The problem as you can see in the picture is clear - the graphics are BAD, nothing stands still and they keep moving. I mean, from the third picture you can see that Zidanes nose is lifted up, and afterwards it goes down. Its like that, it changes every seconds. The nose was just ONE example!

The head also moves up and down all the time, the Moogles head sometimes expand a bit then goes back to normal and that old guy in the picture, his nose stretches longer and goes back to normal like everything I've said up until now.

Basically, everything moves by itself and I expect the graphics to be just graphics, not living things who are high on sugar.

The second problem is as you can see in the first two pictures - when you look at Zidane (and everyone else for that matter) from a short/long distance, is that they look really BAD. I mean, look at Zidanes face, it looks like he's got an classic moustache or something! Trust me, in serious times of the game, I couldn't take those times serious when looking at that kind of bad graphic, it's like an insult to the game lol.

The settings are from the link: my best config, OGL2, FF9 - Emuforums.com

I also tried the one here too and it made no difference whatsoever: http://forums.ngemu.com/psx-plugin-q...-enhanced.html

I dont know what's wrong, seriously. I also tried the "Nice" option, only makes it worse that one. "Fast" doesn't help much either.

All I ask for is for the graphic to just "stay still" and stop moving - is that possible?

And for the people who want's to know - yes I DO LEGALLY OWN THE GAME, I bought it from the PSN network, so no need to pull that one off.

The game is NTSC-U format!

As for the pictures, here they are - copy them and paste them on Paint to have a clearer view of it:

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting (Game pictures)
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting (Settings)

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Last edited by mo0nwalker; July 11th, 2011 at 16:03..

[masta.g.86]

Originally Posted by mo0nwalker

All I ask for is for the graphic to just "stay still" and stop moving - is that possible?

No. That's normal.

It's the result of having to generate a z-buffer on PC hardware when the original hardware doesn't use a z-buffer.

The only way around it is to use a software plugin like P.E.Op.S. "Soft" GPU or turn down the resolution of the hardware plugin to make it less noticeable.

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[mo0nwalker]

Originally Posted by masta.g.86

No. That's normal.

It's the result of having to generate a z-buffer on PC hardware when the original hardware doesn't use a z-buffer.

The only way around it is to use a software plugin like P.E.Op.S. "Soft" GPU or turn down the resolution of the hardware plugin to make it less noticeable.

So basically, I should use P.E.Op.S. Soft GPU (Windows) then?

Since I have Windwos 7 64 bit with AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1055T Processor 2.80 GHz and AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series. I use the 1.7.0 version of epsxe.

So I just replace Pete's OGL2 with P.E.Op.S. Soft GPU to fix that problem?

Also I sometimes get black screen too, when I try to put on shaders somehow, but most different settings I use doesnt have such noticeable effect really. Dont know why, really.

Well, Ill see if trying P.E.Op.S. Soft GPU will help or not, which I can get from here if I am right: Pete's PSX GPU plugins.

OR should I just turn down the resolution instead? If so how? Whats better?

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Last edited by mo0nwalker; July 11th, 2011 at 19:57..

[masta.g.86]

Originally Posted by mo0nwalker

So basically, I should use P.E.Op.S. Soft GPU (Windows) then?

Sure, if you want.

Originally Posted by mo0nwalker

Since I have Windwos 7 64 bit, I use the 1.7.0 version of epsxe and so on?

Doesn't matter. ePSXe 1.7.0 is recommended because it's the latest version.

Originally Posted by mo0nwalker

So I just replace Pete's OGL2 with P.E.Op.S. Soft GPU to fix that problem?

You don't "replace" anything. Just unzip the .dll into ePSXe's 'plugin' folder and then select it after starting ePSXe.

Originally Posted by mo0nwalker

Also I sometimes get black screen too, when I try to put on shaders somehow, but most different settings I use doesnt have such noticeable effect really. Dont know why, really.

The OpenGL2 plugin comes with a "readme" file that exists for some unknown reason.

Originally Posted by mo0nwalker

OR should I just turn down the resolution instead? If so how?

Just change the display resolution to something lower in the plugin config.

Originally Posted by mo0nwalker

Whats better?

Subjective question.

Subjective answer: The OpenGL2 plugin is better, assuming the user knows what s/he is doing with it. Scalable graphics, shaders, other enhancements, etc. I keep the P.E.Op.S. "Soft" GPU plugin around for compatibility testing since it's very accurate.

On that note, you may also want to look at using a different emulator. psx is designed with accuracy in mind and has a much simpler interface (no plugins required). It just needs the BIOS and a game to play. I use this emulator alongside ePSXe for compatibility testing too.

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[mo0nwalker]

Originally Posted by masta.g.86

Sure, if you want.



Doesn't matter. ePSXe 1.7.0 is recommended because it's the latest version.



You don't "replace" anything. Just unzip the .dll into ePSXe's 'plugin' folder and then select it after starting ePSXe.



The OpenGL2 plugin comes with a "readme" file that exists for some unknown reason.



Just change the display resolution to something lower in the plugin config.



Subjective question.

Subjective answer: The OpenGL2 plugin is better, assuming the user knows what s/he is doing with it. Scalable graphics, shaders, other enhancements, etc. I keep the P.E.Op.S. "Soft" GPU plugin around for compatibility testing since it's very accurate.

On that note, you may also want to look at using a different emulator. psx is designed with accuracy in mind and has a much simpler interface (no plugins required). It just needs the BIOS and a game to play. I use this emulator alongside ePSXe for compatibility testing too.

Thanks I appreciate it very much. Will come back if I need more help! You may take your rest now!

[Princess Garnet]

The jumping can't be fixed. It's because of a lack of a Z Buffer in the Playstation. The game itself would need to be altered to fix this (or some very serious work on the emulator end). You can't stop it. It happens even on the real hardware. You just didn't notice it much because of the low resolution. I noticed it, but thought it was slight movement from either breathing, or just whatever, but it can't be fixed. Use 640x480 or lower to minimize it.

The other issue you're talking about is due to hardware acceleration/filtering. Use software rendering (either P.E.Op.S. under ePSXe, or another emulator that doesn't use hardware acceleration, such as pSX).

P.E.Op.S. is (or was) broken under operating systems later than Windows XP. Unless that's been fixed, use pSX. P.E.Op.S. gives similar results to pSX when it's not broken.

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[mo0nwalker]

I see thanks guys, nice to know that its an common problem! It doesnt happen so much in other games like FF7 and 8, but 9 it does.

Ive also tried to use lower resolutions in Petes OGL2 settings, like 640x480 on full screen, made little difference for me.

But Ill try pSX and see if it does better!

[Phil]

Originally Posted by Princess Garnet

The jumping can't be fixed. It's because of a lack of a Z Buffer in the Playstation. The game itself would need to be altered to fix this (or some very serious work on the emulator end). You can't stop it. It happens even on the real hardware. You just didn't notice it much because of the low resolution. I noticed it, but thought it was slight movement from either breathing, or just whatever, but it can't be fixed. Use 640x480 or lower to minimize it.

The other issue you're talking about is due to hardware acceleration/filtering. Use software rendering (either P.E.Op.S. under ePSXe, or another emulator that doesn't use hardware acceleration, such as pSX).

P.E.Op.S. is (or was) broken under operating systems later than Windows XP. Unless that's been fixed, use pSX. P.E.Op.S. gives similar results to pSX when it's not broken.

Pete's plugins work fine under Vista and 7. The older 1.6 version had the FMV "freezing" problem (the Steiner boarding the airship scene) with P.EOp.S. under Win Vista/7 but that has been fixed with 1.7.

[masta.g.86]

I believe PG is referring to the lack of bilinear interpolation with the P.E.Op.S. "Soft" GPU under Vista and 7 which makes the games appear very pixelated.

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[Princess Garnet]

Yes, that's exactly what it is. The FMV hang in Dali (and other places) was something else and had to do with ePSXe itself (version 1.6.0, the prior 1.5.2 and later 1.7.0 were not affected), not the plug-ins, if I remember right. Technically, it "works". I say "broken" because I consider it a bit unpractical when half of the reason for going with it, in my opinion, for is a more natural (also in look) emulation.

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[mo0nwalker]

Alright Ive tried the psX, and mind you that Ive already googled and found no answers, so here goes: Everything went fine up til when I tried to convert my saves from epsxe over to psx! I do manage to get it to recognize my memory cards, but it does not recognize any saves in it! Which basically means I have to start over again, which I most certainly dont want to! (I know you can find save files on net and all, but Im really stubborn on keeping this one for my own reasons)

Is there any way to fix this? Ive got Memtools and all that, but I dont know where the problem in this is, since I really dont hope its because each emulators are "special" when it comes to recognizing save files...

My saves/memorycard is currently "all supported" according to the Memtool.

EDIT: Haha sorry, I put the wrong memcards put the ff8 instead lol. But here comes the other problem - it only recognize a few out of all the save files in those memory cards... So the one I have progressed most on isnt recognized

The graphics looks HORRIBLE too, guess I need to tweak a bit with the graphic configiration...

EDIT 2: I guess I can work myself through on how to find about the memory card issue, as I have visited the "Frequently asked questions" in their forums. But why is the graphics so bad? Its not even worth being called an emulator with those graphics! And I cant seem to make much difference in how I tweak it either!

I mean look (Ill put it as attachment) its not worth giving any care to!

Does it look THIS bad if I try the Pete Soft GPU on epsxe? Since epsxe is the best option now - the pSX is a joke in comparision!

Attached Images

ff92.jpg (158.9 KB, 86 views)

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Last edited by mo0nwalker; July 12th, 2011 at 11:24..

[masta.g.86]

So... you're going to complain about "bad graphics" when you were already told that psx is all about accuracy when the original complaint was about something ridiculously small; polygon movement. P.E.Op.S. will look slightly worse, BTW. These are the only "fixes" to your little problem.

You can live with the minor annoyance of polygon movement in hardware plugins like OpenGL2 or eliminate it my using psx or the P.E.Op.S. plugin. Pros and cons to both. It's your call.

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[mo0nwalker]

Gonna try P.E.Op.S. plugin and see if I should use that or stick with the OGL2, but after having seen the options layed out, I might think differently about the epsxe now! You know, just trying to learn and all - the epsxe looked great on FF7 and FF8, but a little worse but by far bearable compared to pSX in FF9.

Just needed to know the "only" fixes, so I know what I need to know I hope, unless there is an better option!